Vessels that are required to navigate through ice-covered waters are typically mono-hull designs. These mono-hull vessels are usually designed to break the ice via a downward force that is applied by a wide spoon-shaped bow. The specially-designed bow presses down on the ice to break it as the vessel moves forward.
Very few multi-hull ships, such as catamarans and SWATH craft, are capable of operating in ice. Catamarans, for example, typically have narrow hulls that cannot apply sufficient downward force to break ice. SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) vessels, which usually have two pontoon-like lower hulls that are connected to a catamaran-like upper or center hull via struts, have, with limited success, been adapted for ice-breaking operation. The adaptation is to reinforce the struts, the upper portion of the lower hulls, and the lower portion of the upper hull.
The reinforced struts of known ice-breaking-enabled SWATH vessels break ice through a crushing, compressive force. This force must be large, which requires excessive power, since ice presents great resistance to breaking under compressive force (similar to concrete).
A need remains, therefore, for a ice-breaking-enabled multi-hull ship that breaks ice in a more power-efficient manner than those of the prior art.